Inmate hospitalized after suicide attempt

Woman attempted to hang herself with shoelaces

An inmate at Charles County Detention Center was resuscitated after she attempted suicide by hanging in her cell last week, police announced on Wednesday.

A corrections officer found the 27-year-old woman with shoelaces tied around her neck and immediately called for help as he lowered her and assessed her condition, a press release states. The woman had stopped breathing, so officers began CPR. She soon began to breathe on her own and she was flown to a hospital in critical condition.

Detectives of the Charles County Sheriff’s Office assumed the investigation and discovered that the woman told other inmates that she wanted to go to the hospital instead of being incarcerated, police reported. However, none of the inmates alerted jail staff about her comments.

The woman, who was being held after allegedly violating probation conditions stemming from a DUI, was released from police custody on her own personal recognizance while still at the hospital. Her health had improved and her injuries were no longer considered life-threatening, according to a sheriff’s office spokesperson. The investigation is ongoing. Last year, two inmates at the Charles County Detention Center committed suicide while in custody.

On July 13, 2015, corrections officers found Tevin Derrell Garcia, 24, of no fixed address, unconscious with a bedsheet around his neck. He died a short time later in a hospital, according to a CCSO press release.

Garcia was arrested on July 6 for giving a false name to police to avoid prosecution and carrying a concealed deadly weapon, court records indicate. Records show he paid his bail for that case on July 9, but he had been cited for drinking alcohol in a prohibited area on April 20. An arrest warrant was issued on June 24, and served July 8, while he was still in the county jail.

The release states he couldn’t pay the $100 bail on the drinking charge.

A few months later, another inmate committed suicide.

On Oct. 1 around 4 p.m., a corrections officer found a female inmate, Cara Rachell Dorwart, 27, hanging from a bedsheet — which was affixed to a towel hook — inside her cell, according to a CCSO press release.

The officer took immediate action by calling for assistance and medical help. The officer then swiftly removed the sheet from the woman’s neck. Medical personnel, who work inside the detention center performed CPR, activated an automated electronic defibrillator and were able to bring the woman’s pulse back, according to the release. Paramedics arrived and transported the woman to Charles Regional Medical Center where she was admitted in critical condition.

On Sunday at 6:22 p.m. Dorwart died. Her body was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore where an autopsy will be performed.

Dorwart was arrested on Sept. 29 for failing to appear in court on a theft charge; she was being held in lieu of $5,000 bail, the release states.

At the time of the incident, she was the sole occupant of her cell.

“The corrections officers have a tremendous responsibility. On average, we have 350 inmates,” said CCSO spokeswoman Diane Richardson. “They’re responsible for keeping the inmates safe, as well as keeping the community safe, and they do a good job.”

“Unfortunately, suicides do take place in jails,” she continued. “They tend to be few and far between, but they do happen. And anytime it does happen, it has an impact on our officers. It’s a very difficult thing for them to see. In this case, they took quick action and they were able to bring this woman back to life.”